In the year 991 AD an advancing Viking army made its way up the Black Water estuary and moored on the banks of Northey Island. According to an Anglo-Saxon poem, the raiders used this small and marshy island as a base from which to attack the town of Maldon in Essex. But their passage to the mainland was blocked by an Anglo-Saxon army determined to defend their land. The poem goes on to vividly describe the epic and bloody battle that ensued.

 

In this episode of the People’s Landscapes podcast, Dr Eleanor Rosamund Barraclough follows in the footsteps of these Vikings, and sheds some light on just what happened on Northey Island more than 1,000 years ago. 

You can find more podcasts from the National Trust at nationaltrust.org.uk/podcasts